


Melancholy Sound

by CosmicxAngel



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety, Break Up, Character Development, Depression, Drama, F/M, Flamers are not welcome, Friendship, Gen, Heartbreak, Luka Couffaine-centric, Male Friendship, No character bashing, Other, Past Relationship(s), Season 3 divergent, but this is for luka, past lukanette, this is not ship bashing, with a hint of Adrien centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:29:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26722189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicxAngel/pseuds/CosmicxAngel
Summary: Luka struggles with his feelings after breaking up with Marinette.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Luka Couffaine, Luka Couffaine & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Past Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug - Relationship
Comments: 15
Kudos: 26





	Melancholy Sound

**Author's Note:**

> This is canon divergent so some stuff of Season 3 is implied, but yeah obviously not the canon route.
> 
> If the tags didn’t warn you, I’m letting you know now that any hate, ship wars and flames will be deleted. This is not an attack or bashing of any kind to the ship or characters so if you find this fic unpleasant, please turn around and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Thank you ❤️
> 
> Disclaimer, I do not own Miraculous. If I did or the fandom did, it would be a much better show. 
> 
> With all that said, enjoy!

The star filled and moonlit sky would be the perfect romantic night for most in Paris.

Yet it was only one of heartbreak for Luka Couffaine.

The musician strolled down the illuminated streets with his mind wandering and his heart lost.

Only a few hours had passed by since he broke off his six-month relationship with Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

He’d never forget the tone she had nor the broken look on her face when he told her.

* * *

**_“You’re breaking up with me? B-b-but why-” She whimpered in front of the bakery where he met up with her._ **

**_“I’m sorry, Marinette. I really am, but… I just can’t keep this up anymore. We once had a good rhythm, but I knew your heart wasn’t with me from the start. I had hoped something would change…” He spoke, rubbing his arm._ **

**_“What do you mean? I’ve only ever thought about you, I promise!” Marinette protested._ **

**_Luka looked to her with a defeated expression, “I think we both know the truth, Marinette. This won’t work out.”_ **

**_“Luka, you don’t mean that.” She walked towards him as he took a step back._ **

**_“No, I think I do. For the first time, I have to be honest with myself and I think you should the same.” Luka said before he turned to leave._ **

**_“Please…” Marinette pleaded, catching his hand at the last second before he took off. “We can work it out, I swear. I’ll do anything. I…” Both her hands gripped as she besought with a weak voice. “I need you.”_ **

He sighed as he remembered her words in desperation, how she tried to pull him back into her arms in hopes of fixing everything. The temptation was almost good enough to hold on…

But he had to let her go.

And for her sake and his own, he did.

**_“I’ll see you around, Ma-Ma-Marinette.”_ **

* * *

He pulled away and left, not saying another word or taking another glance more. Did she call out for him to stay? Tried to chase after him as he walked away? Luka would never know because the further he went, the faster his legs moved. Never once did he look back.

The musician let out a stressful sigh as he finally stopped somewhere near the Seine under a streetlight. He had been walking for who knows how long. All he knew was he wasn’t ready to head back home just yet. Luka knew his mom and Juleka would still be awake. They had noticed he had been not acting like himself for the past few weeks and often questioned why. As much as he loved them, he couldn’t confide his feelings. Not to mention now, after breaking up with Marinette, her best friend Alya would probably know the moment right after he left so it wouldn’t take too much time for the rest of the girls to know.

He didn’t need to be a mind reader to figure avoiding them right now would be the best route.

As much as he cared for Marinette, sometimes her female friends were quite aggressive, especially the blogger. And Luka didn’t need the stress right now.

The guitarist found himself collapsing on the bench under the streetlamp, finding all his feelings coming back in a rush all at once. The grief, the sadness, the guilt, the loneliness…

… the pressure…

… and the relief.

Clutching his face, Luka was at a still point. He had taken the final step and broken off the relationship…

But now what? What was next?

“Someone’s having a pretty _pawful_ night.”

Luka sat up instantly when he heard the voice, looking around until he caught the figure on the lamppost as none other than one of Paris’ heroes: Chat Noir. He saw the hero swing his tail casually and gives the musician a Cheshire grin. Luka was slightly surprised to be caught off-guard. Normally he was calm and collected even around strangers, but tonight his emotions were all over the place.

Was that why the hero was here?

“Chat Noir, I…” He trailed off, not knowing what to say.

“Sorry, sorry.” Chat apologized, leaping down off the post to stand in front of Luka face to face. “Didn’t mean to startle my favorite musician.”

“No, its… its cool.” Luka tried to assure, feebly waiving away the concern of the cat hero. As he noticed Luka not catching on to his comment, Chat’s smile was wiped away when he noticed the demeanor of the musician. Luka sighed as he slumped on the bench, disgruntled and edgy. Though he tried to give at least the smallest smile, the musician looked too exhausted.

“Hey, you okay?” Chat asked, concerned.

“Ah, yeah…” Luka tried to promise. “It’s nothing… nothing important. I’m sorry if I disturbed you while you’re on patrol.”

“It’s no bother.” Chat assured back, moving to sit next to Luka. “Never a bother. You wanna chat about it?” The black cat winced at his own words, not meaning to pun this time. Gratefully, Luka only gave a ghost of a smile before he thought back on everything.

“It’s just…” He started with a sigh as Chat moved closer. “With her… I thought we really had something. At least for a moment. This may sound weird… but I listened to the melody in her heart for the first time and it was the sincerest sound I’ve heard. Maybe it was hopeful wishing… but I wanted my beat to be the one to complete her song.”

Green eyes looked concerned as Luka crouched more as if to make himself disappear. “But every time we were together… I only heard silence.”

Chat gave Luka a look of both pity yet understanding. To most his words might sound confusing if not a bit weird, but the blonde knew better. Luka was a passionate person and spoke poetically.

Luka held himself more as he continued, not noticing his voice beginning to tremble and tears forming in his eyes, “Did you… have you ever been around someone you loved, yet you never felt so alone?”

Chat’s ears flattened against his friend as he reaches for him, “Luka…”

“It sounds stupid, right?” The musician continued on, gripping his arms tighter. “I had the feeling that it wouldn’t work. She told me from the start she liked someone else and still wanted to give us a try.”

“Luka-”

“It’s all my fault. Now I broke her heart and left her-”

“Luka-”

“I’m selfish. I’ve ruined everything-”

“LUKA!”

Black leathered hands grabbed Luka’s own to keep the guitarist from digging into his scalp. Chat’s heart nearly broke seeing Luka jolt up with tears in his eyes and shoulders slump in defeat. The black cat could see the despair and wanted… no NEEDED to help. He couldn’t leave Luka like this.

With determination, Chat spoke. “Listen to me. It’s not your fault. It’s never your fault because of how you feel. Don’t you ever berate yourself for hoping to have something special with a person you cared about.”

Luka froze, barely being able to respond. “But… I left-”

“Luka, can I ask you something?” Chat requested.

“Sure…” The musician permitted while looking away, not having the will to argue.

“When you were together, did you ever insult her?”

Surprised at the question, Luka immediately responded. “No.”

“Did you do anything to spite her or hurt her feelings intentionally?”

“Of course not.” He answered instantly again.

“Did you ever think about being with anyone else besides her?”

“Never.” Luka sat up straighter as he answered.

“And did you do everything you could to make her happy? Safe? Loved?” Chat asked finally.

“With all my heart.” Luka responded with a solid tone, holding his hand over his beating chest.

Satisfied with those answers, Chat pulled away with a nod before motioning back to the musician. “Then you did all you could and shouldn’t blame yourself anymore. If you truly loved this girl and you know what makes her happy, then you made a decision that was best for the both of you.”

He gently placed a clawed hand on Luka’s shoulder, who turned to him with an unbalanced gaze. “You both deserve to have someone. Someone who will give back the same amount of love you give. But you have to be fair to yourself, Luka.” Chat encouraged. “You’re an amazing guy. Anyone would be very lucky to have you.”

Rubbing his tears away with his arm, Luka gave a hopeful to his hero. “You really believe so?”

“You wouldn’t have been chosen as Viperion if you weren’t.” Chat added with a wink.

Luka blinked in surprise, “Huh? Wait, but how did you-”

“Well, let’s just say you have a fan out there who believes in you as much as I do.” The cat hero quickly responded before standing up. His staff gave a small beep before he opened to check the message and noticed the time, realizing how late it was.

“Well it looks like I better get going. Still have some _pawtrolling_ to do. This city isn’t gonna protect itself.” He stated, cracking his fingers and rolling his shoulders.

Wiping his face of the tear marks, Luka agreed. It was getting late and the last thing he wanted to do was make his family worry. Picking himself up with his guitar, Luka noticed Chat paused in leaving while extending his staff.

“Hey…” The hero turned back to the guitarist. “You gonna be okay by yourself?”

Luka hesitated to answer, which caused Chat to be concerned until the blue haired male nodded. “I wanna say yes… maybe not right away. But I hope to be.” He said, tugging on his guitar strap before giving a small but appreciative smile. “Thank you, Chat. For everything.”

“Anytime.” Chat smiled warmly.

With a two-finger salute, Chat Noir took off into the night. Luka watched him disappear behind ~~the~~ buildings, feeling hope in his heart for the first time in a while. Not wanting to wander around any longer, the blue haired musician made his journey back home after a tiring day.

Meanwhile above, unknown to him, a black butterfly roamed aimlessly after its previous target was no longer obtainable. Before it could fly off to find a new victim, the familiar red yoyo captured the akuma out of thin air by Ladybug. She stood on the rooftop, releasing the now healed butterfly into the night sky.

Though no one could see the tears she shed.

* * *

[ Three Hours Earlier ]

“Goodnight, Adrien.”

“Goodnight, Nathalie.”

Watching the door close, Adrien leaned back against the headboard of his bed as Nathalie left. The model had a strenuous week dealing with not just school and work, but with his complicated relationship with Kagami.

Despite popular belief, Adrien wasn’t as oblivious as people perceived him to be. Or at least not completely. With all the time they had spent together, Adrien figured out for a while Kagami wanted more than just friendship with him and while he felt flattered to receive such feelings from a close friend, Adrien was conflicted about taking the step.

He wanted to move on from Ladybug, yes, but he didn’t want to date Kagami for that reason alone.

The model was almost afraid to ask the real question on his mind: Was he ready?

He sighed, rubbing his head. Adrien didn’t have a straight answer, nor did he have anyone to really talk to.

Well, he had Plagg, but the kwami was always nonchalant when it came to feelings period if it didn’t have to anything to do with cheese. He simply told Adrien he had to make the decision on his own.

“You’re thinking too hard and that’s gonna hurt your brain. In the end, you should go with what your gut says. Eventually, you need to learn to trust yourself with your own decisions, kid.”

And when he thought back on what was said Adrien realized the kwami had a point. The blonde had a difficulty in making some choices on his own, mostly because he was afraid. He remembered some mistakes he made he blamed himself over or was berated for making them, causing him to doubt. He held a small regret over the bad memories caused by them.

But neither Adrien’s, nor Chat’s, decisions were ALL bad.

The model had to remember some of the actions he took to protect his family, his friends, his la… his partner.

And because he trusted himself, he was still alive and safe, along with his loved ones.

And as for Kagami, he looked back to the time they knew each other since they’d met and remembered how his dear friend was ALWAYS honest with him…

_‘Do not hesitate, because I won’t’_

And he needed to do the same for her.

Opening his eyes with resolve, Adrien opened the cabinet underneath his bed and called for his kwami “Eat up, Plagg. We’re going out.”

The god of destruction merely flew into the door where his beloved camembert awaited to be eaten. As Plagg munched on, Adrien reached for his phone and dialed. Listening to the ring, he perked up when the phone was answered.

“Hey, Kagami. I hope it’s not too late, but I wanted to talk to you… Really? Oh good. This won’t take long. But I’ve been thinking about what you said the other day… and I have to confess. I haven’t been completely honest with you…”

* * *

[ The Next Day ]

Luka arrived afterschool at Collège Françoise Dupont to pick up Juleka as asked. Since this morning, after small talk with his mom, his sister insisted he take her to school and take her home. He did question why, but with his inner turmoil struggling to settle from last night, Luka didn’t object to having Juleka as company. He was grateful she was understanding about what happened.

As the students poured out from dismissal, Luka was greeted happily by Rose and her comfort hugs. He gave a tug of a smile as Juleka followed with both of the girls offering genuine smiles to the Couffaine male.

Though it only took Luka one glance upward for it to fade away.

Standing near the door was a distressed Marinette who froze upon seeing him. She instantly turned away into the arms of Alya who didn’t hesitate to glare at him angrily. “C’mon, girl. Let’s go wait for Nino inside.” He heard her mumble before the two girls went back inside.

The familiar guilt began to swell in his gut as Luka turned away with regret. Juleka and Rose looked from the doorway to Luka and moved to comfort him as he wilted.

“Luka… are you…” Juleka paused.

“Are you gonna be okay?” Rose finished, worried.

Luka pulled his head up with a deep breath, not blaming the action towards him. He deserved it. He reached for his bike and was about to suggest the idea of him taking a bike ride alone when the sound of footsteps and a familiar male voice called for him.

“Luka! Luka!” The trio turned around to find Adrien Agreste shouting and waving while running towards them. Though the blonde made a misstep as he tripped and started falling towards the ground with a yell. Instinct took over Luka and the musician found himself catching the model before he hit the ground. “Careful!”

“Awesome.” Juleka commended.

Adrien latched onto Luka as he was caught and sighed in relief. “Whoa… that was close.”

“I’ll say.” Luka agreed, helping the blonde back onto his feet. “You okay?”

“Yep!” Adrien nodded with two thumbs up.

“We’ve gotta stop meeting like this.” Luka added, shaking his head in amusement. Adrien gave a small chuckle as the girls giggled to themselves.

“I’m glad I caught you.” Adrien addressed as he and Luka settled down. “I wanted to see how you were doing. I… heard about what happened between you and Marinette. I’m really sorry.”

Luka’s small humor faded away as he felt slightly soured. “Oh… you did?” He frowned at this. How many people were told in so little time? They only broke up last night. The musician didn’t get to mull over it much longer as Adrien took one of his hands to get his attention.

The blonde nodded with sincerity as he continued, “I checked on Mari, but I wanted to make sure you were okay too. I know you must be dealing with a lot right now. But I wanted you to know that you don’t have to deal with everything alone. If you ever need anyone to talk to or to listen, I’m here for you, Luka.”

Rose cooed at the sweetness before being dragged away by Juleka to give their boys their privacy.

Luka only stared at Adrien who held such determination in his eyes. The bluenette could tell his bandmate was being genuine. He then gave Adrien a pat on the shoulder and grateful smile, “Thanks, Adrien. That really means a lot.”

“That’s what friends are for.” Adrien returned with a winning smile. Luka could swear the blonde lit up like sunlight. Though the model wasn’t finished as he pulled his hand away. “So uh, actually I was wondering if you were busy today. I know we don’t have practice but… maybe we can hang out together?”

“Um, sure. Though is there a reason...?” Luka trailed off as he mentally smacked himself. Why would he ask something like that? Here his friend was being sincere, and the guitarist was jumping the gun. He was still messing up…

“No, no!” Adrien tried to reassure, seeing Luka looking down. “No reason! I mean, not specifically. I just…” The blonde took a deep breath as he remembered what he spoke about last night. “Sorry if I sound weird. I thought maybe we could get to know each other more. We usually don’t hang out as often except with the band. And if you don’t mind the company…”

The guitarist looked to Adrien before looking behind to see both Rose and Juleka eavesdropping on the conversation motioning for Luka to say ‘yes’, with the latter mouthing ‘Do it, you wimp!’. Raising his eyebrow, Luka looked at Adrien again who was still muttering to himself and couldn’t help but hold a fond smile.

Now he understood why people said the boy was sweet and caring over his friends.

Finally, he answered. “Sure. I don’t’ mind. We can go right now if you want.”

Perking up, Adrien stopped and grinned excitedly. “Really? Awesome!”

“You’re good to go, then?” Luka asked as he unlocked his bike.

“Yeah, normally I have fencing afterschool, but it got cancelled.” Adrien answered with a lighter tone, shadowing Luka. “I had plans with someone else… but they couldn’t make it.”

The older teen settled on his bike, not pushing for a better explanation out of his bandmate. “Hop on.” He motioned to the seat behind him for Adrien to get on. As the model followed, Luka looked to the group as Juleka gave him a thumbs up to say she’d be fine.

Smiling, he then looked back to Adrien. “Hang on tight.”

“Got it!” Feeling Adrien nod and arms around his waist, Luka took off from the school with some of their friends waving them away. Adrien looked around as Luka rode smoothly on the street, the blonde looking around as they rode by.

Luka, while keeping his eyes on the road, felt content along the smooth ride. He stopped at a red light and felt Adrien shift more. He felt something land on his hand and noticed a little ladybug sat down before it flew off. The musician trailed his gaze above to the sky, noticing how the clouds were shifting around the sun.

Luka couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his heart as he caught one odd cloud in the shape of a cat. As the light turned green, he continued to ride with his friend to enjoy the rest of the day.

Just like the sky, his heart was clouded.

It would take time for them to pass by.

But eventually, everything would become bright and clear again.

[ The End ]

**Author's Note:**

> Big kudos to [ Khanofallorcs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khanofallorcs/profile) for being my beta reader! If you're a fan of miraculous fanfics and art, be sure to check out [ Miraculous Fanworks](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) server on discord! Let me know what you think!


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